If we bought only things we needed, there would be enough for everybody. What do we need? What you need depends on how old you are and your way of life. Rearrange the list of things you can buy and put the things you think we most need at the top of the list.

   Coat             Designer jeans          Water       CD player

  Dental check up   Restaurant meal     Telephone   Jewelry

  Food          Shampoo             MP3 player  Beer

  Toothpaste        Bar of chocolate        Cushion covers

     If we don’t need to buy so much, we don’t need to work so much. We can take part-time jobs or reduce our working day from eight hours to six hours. Some people are leaving very well paid jobs to live a healthier life in the countryside or a more exciting life abroad. Parents can spend more time with their children and the unemployed are given more opportunities to work.

   If we start to respect saving the earth more than spending money, we will become ‘conservers’ (保护者). When we are conservers, we try to choose environmentally friendly products that last a long time. We may find growing our own vegetables or making our own clothes more rewarding than buying them.

   Next time you go shopping, think about what you really need to buy. Don’t deprive (剥夺) yourself of things you like, but decide what you should buy before you go out, so that you won’t be influenced by advertisements or promotions. If it is more expensive to buy goods that don’t have much packaging and things that are more durable (耐用的), buy less. If you can choose to work less, decide which things you would like to make, do or grow yourself. Even though you have less money, your life will become richer.

                                                 by Julie Bray

1. From the passage, we can see the author suggests us consumers ______.

  A. find out more about a product instead of buying blindly

  B. consider what we really need before going shopping

  C. avoid regret at not buying enough

  D. find a real bargain

2.. The writer will agree with you if you buy products that are ______.

  A. beautifully packaged       B. extremely cheap

  C. usable for a long time         D. fashionable now

3. According to the passage, if we don’t need to buy so much, the benefits  

  will include ______.

  a. we will have more time enjoying life

  b. the employment rate will increase

  c. we will get better paid jobs

  d. we as consumers will have more choices of what to buy

  A. abc    B. abd       C. ab      D. ad

4.This passage is mainly written to _____.

  A. persuade people to buy less and buy environmentally friendly products

  B. put forward some questions so that you can become a smart buyer

  C. introduce some good ways to make a wiser choice when shopping

  D. criticize the consumer society in which people buy too much

230. I didn’t ______ being called “Lazy bones”, because a lot of housework is always done by my elder sister.

“Everybody in this city wants a car, and I’m no exception. A car brings with it the freedom to travel”, said a friend of mine while reading a car magazine. I might not agree with him, but no doubt he was speaking for a rapidly growing number of middle-class Chinese. While it is true that all the waiting, walking, being part of a crowd, and sweating, are somewhat unpleasant, there are many problems which can arise when our lives rely too much on this invention.

First of all, in terms of polluting the environment, driving a car is the worst act an average person can commit. Beijing now finds itself at the top of the list of the most polluted capital cities in the world with Mexico City in the second place. Research also shows that by 2010 around 90% of total pollutants in Shanghai have come from cars. These pollutions are extremely dangerous to our health. They can damage the lungs, cause cancer, and damage the brain.

Apart from environmental problems, relying too much on cars also creates social problems such as traffic jams, road accidents, and noise pollution. The jeeps that proudly drive through the Hutongs in Beijing as if they are in a race often annoy me, and to make it worse, these drivers seldom respect cyclists.

Of course, we cannot forget the convenience that cars bring us when we need to travel far, but I often find it faster to cycle from one place to another within the city of Beijing, especially with the growing traffic jams.

Since people travel further and more frequently than before, cars will certainly be important in the future. At the same time, however, let us work hard to make sure that this invention brings us a more convenient lifestyle rather than trouble and disease. Let us make good use of cars.

1.What is this passage mainly about?

   A. Environmental problems.

   B. Traffic jams in Beijing.

   C. Problems brought about by cars.

   D. Benefits of using cars.

2. The underlined word commit in Paragraph 2 has the close meaning as ____ .

   A. do something right or legal

   B. do something wrong or illegal

   C. do something good and meaningful

   D. do something bad and meaningless

3.What do we know about the author?

   A. The author doesn’t want a car.

   B. The author agrees that a car offers freedom to travel.

   C. The author suggests that we should rely on bicycles.

   D. The author thinks that the invention of cars leads to many problems.

4.In Paragraph 3, what does the author mean by saying “The jeeps… often annoy me”?

   A. The author is troubled by the way jeeps are driven in the Hutongs of Beijing.

   B. The author thinks that Hutongs are too narrow for jeeps to drive through.

   C. The author thinks that the jeeps are too noisy.

   D. The author is worried that more accidents are caused by jeeps than any other cars.

5.What is the author’s idea in Paragraphs 4 and 5 ?

   A. Cars are only convenient for people traveling far.

   B. We should all give up cars and ride bicycles.

   C. Cars have brought us more convenience than troubles.

   D. We should choose between the car and the bicycle according to the situation.

A peer is a person who is about the same age as you. Peers affect your life, whether you know it or not, just by spending time with you. 

Peers can have a good effect on one another. Maybe another student in your science class taught you an easy way to remember the planets in solar system. Maybe you got others excited about your new favorite book and now everyone’s reading it. 

However, sometimes peers affect one another in another way. For example, one kid in school might try to get another to cut class with him, your soccer friend might try to persuade you to be mean to another player and never pass her the ball, or a kid in the neighborhood might want you to shoplift with him. Some kids give in to peer pressure because they want to be liked, to fit in, or because they worry that other kids may make fun of them if they don’t go along with the group. Others may go along because they are curious to try something new that others are doing. The idea that “everyone’s doing it” may influence some kids to leave their better judgments or their common senses behind. 

Peer pressure can be extremely strong and hard to get rid of. Experiments have shown how peer pressure can influence someone to change her/ his mind from what she/ he knows for sure is a correct answer to the incorrect answer－just because everyone else gives the incorrect answer! That holds true for people of any age in peer pressure situations. 

It can be hard to walk away from peer pressure, but it can be done. Paying attention to your own feelings and beliefs about what is right and wrong can help you know the right thing to do. Inner strength and self-confidence can help you stand firm, walk away and resist doing something when you know better.

68. What is the best title for this passage? 

A. Peers have a good effect   B. Children give in to peer pressure

C. Peer pressure is hard to resist    D. Peer pressure

69. The underlined word “shoplift” in Paragraph 3 probably means “________”.

A. do some shopping     B. carry goods for shops 

C. steal in shops            D. take the lift upstairs in shops

70. The writer will NOT agree that ________.

A. only children change their correct answers to incorrect ones because of peer pressure

B. peers have an effect on one another

C. peer pressure can be got rid of

D. peers will believe in themselves if there are other peers who agree with them

71. By writing the passage the writer intends to ________.

A. tell people to follow other’s opinions

B. warn people to stay away from their peers

C. tell it is hard to walk away from pressure

D. persuade people to do the right thing regardless of peer pressure